Timo Lumme, Managing Director of IOC Television & Marketing Services, said: “We wanted to create a campaign that would reach and engage young people – by building a correlation between “Olympic best” and everyone’s personal best. Not everyone can be an Olympic athlete, but everyone can strive to be their best at something. This campaign celebrates that effort.”

The IOC is working with Olympic broadcast partners worldwide to promote the initiative through a broadcast spot depicting some of the greatest Olympic moments of all time. Complementing these iconic performances is footage of people doing their best – whatever that may be. Throughout the spot, a yellow line symbolises the threshold of achievement we set for ourselves, be that pole vaulting higher than anyone has before, or climbing a rope for the first time.

In the run-up to the London 2012 Olympic Games, a second TV spot will be drawn from among the video entries, chosen by a panel including Olympic athletes. This spot, made up of user-generated content, will be aired in the weeks before and during the Games, and will also be shown on the big screens at the London 2012 Olympic venues.

The digital component, www.olympic.org/showyourbest, is the hub of the campaign, where people can watch videos from all over the world, vote on their favourites or submit their own videos. At the heart of the experience is the video montage creator that allows people to upload and incorporate their videos into some of the greatest Olympic moments of all time before sharing it with their friends.

The initiative will also allow users to enter via the Olympic Facebook channel, through the “Show Your Best” component on the IOC’s YouTube channel, and via a Youku channel in China (all launching in January 2012).

The IOC has worked with WPP’s United Group of Agencies on “The Best of Us” since 2007. Since 2009, the creative agency within the United Group working on the campaign has been Cole & Weber United, based in Seattle, Washington. In its previous efforts on behalf of the IOC, Cole & Weber won Shoot Magazine honours for “Top Spot of the Year.”